A picture frame in common use today is made of extruded aluminum frame sections, each of which includes a locking channel into which the legs of an L-shaped corner piece can be inserted. The corner piece includes two similarly shaped plates which are sometimes referred to as a tapped (threaded) upper plate and a backing plate. The tapped plate includes a threaded opening in each leg for receiving a screw which is accessible through an elongated slot in the back of a frame section. By tightening the screws the tapped plate and backing plate are forced apart thereby clamping the plates against opposing surfaces of the locking channels of two adjacent frame sections to lock the two frame sections together. The backing plate may be unconnected to the tapped plate, or the plates may be held together by means of an elastomeric adhesive applied at the junction of the legs which form the “L”. The tapped plate is also known as a locking plate.
Conventional mitered frame corners have forty-five degree angled cut mitered edges at the junction of the frame sections, The forty-five degree angle of the frame section edges, when joined, form a perpendicular corner section of the frame. However, the angled edges of the mitered frame connections remain exposed to the viewer of the framed object even though the overall appearance of the frame corner section is rectangular.
The object of this invention is to provide a decorative corner piece that retains the function of joining mitered frame sections, while at the same time providing a cosmetic overlay to the mitered frame corners.